Bush talks of changing tactics in Iraq

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George Bush has raised the possibility of altering US tactics in
Iraq in a move that his campaign manager said showed a
commander-in-chief willing to learn from setbacks.

The President tinkered with his re-election message as seven
nationwide polls and the state-by-state electoral vote count showed
him and his Democratic challenger, John Kerry, still locked in a
virtual dead heat.

"A president must lead with consistency and strength in these
troubling times," Mr Bush told supporters in Onalaska, Wisconsin.
"In war, sometimes you change your tactics - but you never change
your principles."

In Washington, Mr Bush's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, told
reporters several hours later that "the goal is fixed [but] the
tactics are flexible" in Iraq. Neither man detailed changes in the
approach to Iraq, where about 1100 soldiers have died in combat in
the past 19 months.

"The American people want a leader who is resolute in what he
wants to accomplish and is flexible in working on how to accomplish
it," Mr Mehlman said. "Ultimately what the American people want
from their president is not some guy who lies on the couch and says
'Ooh,' but somebody who learns and adapts and changes based on what
we learn."

Mr Mehlman

conceded that Mr Bush may not sound consistent as he adapts his
approach to changing circumstances, but said: "I think the American
people are much more interested in what he has done for the country
than in a particular answer to a question."

Senator Kerry said Mr Bush may be hiding more bad news about the
invasion and occupation. He had "not offered a single word of
explanation" about why US forces failed to secure 342 tonnes of
high explosives that were looted by insurgents or prospective
terrorists for potential use against GIs or in the US.

Nor had Mr Bush discussed his plan to seek at least $US70
billion ($94 billion) more early next year for Iraq and
Afghanistan, to bring total costs of military operations in the two
countries since 2001 to nearly $US225 billion.

"Mr President, what else are you being silent about?" Senator
Kerry demanded at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin. "What else are
you keeping from the American people?"

Meanwhile, the electoral battleground has unexpectedly expanded,
with Democrats suddenly playing defensive in one stronghold,
Hawaii, and some party strategists eyeing two other states that
Senator Kerry had all but written off, West Virginia and
Arkansas.

The flurry of interest in these states in the campaign's final
week underscored not only how close the race remains but also the
combatants' desire to test every opportunity and protect against
every contingency.

A poll in The Honolulu Advertiser - showing Senator Kerry
and Mr Bush tied - caught everyone by surprise and caused the
Democratic National Committee to buy TV ads as a precaution.

Two independent liberal groups, the Media Fund and MoveOn.org's
political action committee, also bought air time to help shore up a
state that Al Gore won by 19 percentage points.

Bill Clinton, the former president, has for weeks implored the
Kerry campaign not to give up on Arkansas, a state Mr Gore narrowly
lost, and plans to campaign there on Sunday. In the past two weeks,
two polls have shown the race in Arkansas statistically even.

West Virginia fell off the Kerry list of top-tier targets weeks
ago. But one top Democrat said polling within the past week showed
the race had narrowed to low single digits, prompting a
reassessment.